


The Green-Fingered God

by Palefire73



Series: Loki Origins [39]
Category: Frigga - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Loki uses his Seidr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 04:12:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15428745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: It's hot in Asgard. Most people retreat indoors to cool down or have a nap, but Loki is bored and sneaks out of the nursery...





	The Green-Fingered God

The Asgardian sunshine was beating down mercilessly one mid-afternoon and many people had retreated indoors to the relatively quiet and cool interiors of the Palace for a cold drink or even a nap. Young Prince Loki, however, had quickly grown bored in this confinement to the nursery and once he heard the first gentle snores of Fulla, Thor and Tyr, he sneaked out to go to play in the private sections of the Royal Gardens. He was fascinated by the plants growing there, just as he was by those growing wild in the woodlands; the profusion of colours, shapes and scents was a source of great interest to him and his natural curiosity – as well as a few scares to do with what he tried to touch and even eat – had led to his mother starting to teach him herb-lore. Having become very ill through eating a small amount of Asgardian Greenbell, she had started to show him which plants were safe, saying “If you do not recognise the shape, colour or smell of any plant, assume it is dangerous until I tell you otherwise!” Loki had become the proud owner of a small patch of soil in which he had sowed some seeds and so it was that he started to learn about useful plants: those that were used to make sweet fragrant teas, some used to enhance the flavour of food and others that could provide nourishment if one got lost in the foothills of Asgard.

 

His thirst for knowledge was great and he had a more than willing teacher in Frigga, who saw it as the perfect opportunity to spend time with her youngest and to grow closer to him. She was aware of his blossoming Seidr and knew that she had to ensure he learned to control and to wield it in ways that were not damaging to him – or anyone else for that matter. However, Odin was not as welcoming to the idea, preferring swordsmanship and heavy weapons training as subjects fit for the Princes of the House of Odinson, but his natural propensity towards favouring Tyr and Thor meant that he managed to tolerate the fact that Loki only attended the very minimum of those classes so that he could learn other things. Unfortunately, this state of affairs meant that he did not see nearly as much of Loki as he did the other two Princes and they were not forming as close a bond. Loki was growing away from Odin and much closer to Frigga.

 

Filling a large bronze pitcher from one of the ornate water fonts that were situated here and there in the gardens, Loki began to walk along one of the many winding paths and decided to attend to those plants that were a little less tolerant of the hot and dry conditions that the day had brought. His gentle five-year-old hand carefully moved drooping stalks aside and poured the water onto the soil beneath as he had been shown, never letting water get on the foliage of these delicate plants while the sun shone down. He plucked the occasional dead head from dry stalks here and there and removed any weeds threatening to spread and take over.

 

The Royal Gardens were beautiful; different areas had different themes and the vast majority were looked after by a large team of gardeners and herbalists. Most of them were open to the public to walk round and admire, but one of the areas that was closed off to anyone but the Royals was the part that Frigga had given to Loki for him to look after. He had started with easy plants to grow and which were safe to cultivate and even to eat, such as Asgardian Strawberries, Asgardian cucumbers and a mixture of herbs for culinary purposes. His plot of land was right next to Queen Frigga’s gardens where she grew many of the plants she used in herb-lore and in the magic she practised. These were also open to the public, who very often were treated to seeing her there, hair tied up in a messy bun and dressed in gardener’s pants and shirt.

 

Loki wandered over to his part of the garden and saw that the large hairy leaves of the Asgardian Cucumber plant were wilting. He refilled the pitcher and watched as the crystal clear water then cascaded onto the rich soil in which the thirsty plant was rooted. He smiled satisfactorily at his handiwork, knowing that within half an hour the leaves would once more be beautifully poised, with their large green surfaces harnessing the power of the Asgardian Sunshine so they could produce their tasty fruits. He went to place the pitcher next to the font, intending to go to get himself a drink from the Palace Kitchens, but he noticed there were a few flowering plants in his mother’s garden which were looking very sorry for themselves. He decided in his young mind that a few more minutes away from the Palace would not matter and he thought of how happy his mother would be if she could come here this evening and see that her garden looked in splendid form despite the unforgiving hot sun that had beaten down on it all day. He dipped the pitcher in the font and crossed to a raised walled bed where some large blue and white Asgardian Lilies were drooping, as was the red Asgardian Dahlia behind them. He placed the pitcher on the wall of the flower bed and leaned forward to carefully part the leaves of the lilies so that he could water the Dahlia first.

 

As he reached further back through the dense foliage in an attempt to find some bare soil upon which to pour the water, his five year-old body began to overbalance and, to his dismay, he started to slide sideways along the retaining wall. Unfortunately, his reflexes kicked in and he grabbed out to try to stop himself falling, clutching at handfuls of green lily leaves and stalks. The combination of his weight – even though he was not particularly heavily built – and the momentum of the fall caused the lilies to start to uproot, but then they snapped and Loki fell abruptly to the path as the pitcher was also knocked flying and clanged on the ground before rolling away, the bronze metal glinting in the hot Asgardian Sun.

 

“Ah!” Cried out the young Prince, as his right elbow and right knee scraped on the stony surface only to begin to bleed. He watched as the crimson beads formed on his stinging skin, trying not to cry.

 

The pitcher came to a stop at the foot of a statue and once the last of the water had gushed out, finally became silent in its sorry position. Loki looked down at the torn Asgardian Lily leaves and flower stalks he was still holding onto tightly. He clambered up and as he looked at the damage he did start to cry, because far from alleviating the dehydrated state of his mother’s prized flowers, he had ruined them. The blue and white flowers that should have been swaying gently in the sunshine were drooping sadly from his fingers and he raised one of them up to look at it. In some sort of childish desperation, he tried to push the stem back onto its ruined stump, sobbing in desolation at what had happened. As tears fell down his young face, he thought of how upset his mother would be; this was a rare breed of lily which had been bred by the master horticulturalists in honour of Thor’s naming day, and the one Loki had just destroyed was one of only around half a dozen specimens in existence.

 

“Oh no!” His young voice trembled, “Oh… no, no, no…. Oh, please do not be broken!” Loki’s mind tried to will the flower back onto the jagged stump. He pictured the intact plant as it had been only minutes ago and he wished with his whole heart that it would go back to how it had looked. He squeezed his bright blue eyes closed, as little children do when they are so desperate for something to happen, and he wished.

 

“Oh, please! By any power in the Nine, please let this plant get better.” Loki held the stem steadily to the end of the stump and his suntanned five year-old countenance faced up to the sky with a resolute expression. He imagined the two ends joining together and fusing, the xylem and phloem knitting perfectly and the surface cells reforming around them seamlessly. After a minute or two, he realised he would have to face the truth and, with a wobbly lip, a creased brow and small tears escaping them, he opened his eyes and gasped.

 

The plant was intact! The blue and white lily flower sat proudly atop its long green stem just as it had before; the lush foliage was mended and the graceful leaves surrounded the flowers once more, as if nothing had happened. Loki’s small mouth dropped open in surprise and he took a step back, then he looked at his hands, which were still stained green where the broken leaves had rubbed on them. Yet he could see another colour: blue. It was faint, but it was there, and he knew he had somehow used his Seidr to heal the damage he had done. He had wanted so desperately to not disappoint his mother that his power had reached out and put everything right! His crystal blue eyes returned to the lily and saw a faint blue light near where the breaks had been and he glanced worriedly around the garden, only to see – with an element of relief – that there was no one there. He reached out his hand and his grubby fingertips stroked the perfectly smooth stems and leaves, not quite believing what he was seeing. Surely the blue light would fade before his mother saw the flowers the next time, and even if she did see it, would it matter? Hopefully not.

 

Suddenly overcome with relief, but mostly an overwhelming feeling of fatigue that he put down to the hot mid-day sun, Loki scooted over to the fallen pitcher, placed it back next to the font and headed off towards the Palace to return to the cool interior and obtain a cold drink from the kitchens before sneaking back into the nursery. He had had enough adventure for one day and he suddenly felt the need for a nap!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

An elegant hand, which bore rings of finest Asgardian Gold, gently cupped the flower of the blue and white Asgardian Lily, bringing it towards Frigga’s face so she could inhale the heady perfume. It was perfect! She had seen the whole thing of course and it only served to reaffirm her belief that Loki’s magical abilities would not simply “go away” if left alone, as Odin seemed to want to believe. No, they would grow, but potentially in an untamed fashion which could be dangerous. She owed it to the little Jotúnn hostage to help him to develop his powers in a safe and useful fashion.

 

Frigga had heard the young Prince clamber from the day bed he was sharing with Thor as they were napping in the nursery earlier and she had decided to follow the little mischief to see what he was up to. When he had proceeded to carefully water some of the plants that were looking dehydrated, she had been delighted to see such consideration from her son. So, when the poor little mite had fallen over and had damaged the commemorative lilies, her heart had sunk. Not in anger, but in disappointment for the boy, who had clearly been horrified at what he had done.

 

She had just been about to step out and reveal her presence when she had witnessed his attempts to ‘stick’ the plant back together and his actions had nearly had her in tears. It was so lovely of him to think that it would work, and it was a wonderful, surprising and amazing thing to watch as he had indeed made it happen, even though he was unaware that he was doing so. But she had seen it. As Loki had closed his eyes to ‘wish’ the plant whole again, Frigga had seen the blue tendrils of Seidr emanating from his little fingers and spreading around the broken ends of the stems, where they joined it back together and strengthened it, and then as the fallen leaves all floated back to the jagged tears where they belonged and the same blue Seidr healed them too. The Asgardian Queen had smiled through happy tears as her little boy had at first been shocked to find everything back to how it should be and then had seemed to almost guilt-ridden as he had glanced around the garden, fortunately not seeing her. It was clear as he walked off in the direction of the Palace that his actions had fatigued him and she knew that she needed to look into just why casting his Seidr did that to him.

 

She caressed the plant where vibrant blue light coated the repairs – Loki’s signature, indicative of his blue Seidr, possibly inherited from one of his birth parents. As her own golden magic mixed with the blue, turning it green, it faded from view and disappeared, leaving the plant in its original natural state. Smiling happily, Frigga walked back through Loki’s garden, noticing how he had tended the flower beds there too. When she reached the nursery, the sight before her filled her heart with such joy, she felt she could not be happier. Loki had come back here and, obviously tired from his afternoon adventure, had climbed back up onto the day bed where Thor had still been napping. Loki lay there now absolutely out for the count, sucking his thumb whilst in the embrace of his elder brother’s arms, both of them snoring gently like two sleepy peas in a pod.

**Author's Note:**

> A re-use of a title from another of my series, Prisoners. I love the idea that Loki is still unsure about these powers he has and just wants to do nice things for his mother. We all get caught out doing something wrong or causing accidents, but wouldn't it have been great if you'd had Seidr and could have put it right before it was found out?


End file.
